Research Topics: Intranet Strategies

Intranet Strategies

1.      Some of the potential strategies in managing intranet are listed by Nelson and Todd (1999). These strategies are based on the activities of various companies in order to manage and control their intranet and rang from standard setting, resource allocation to applications development and involve activities that will help the organization control activities using the intranet. However, there will be certain problems that may arise from these activities depending on the control approaches implemented in an organization. A high control approach may result to low empowered employees or end user, over dependency to IT professionals that even the smallest problem with the use of the web can not be able to solve making IT staff inefficient because they are overly controlled by higher functional level. On the other hand, low control approach may result to over-empowered end user resulting to development of applications not related to their work and unauthorized access to data. 2.        The advantage of application development of end-user are being able to independently develop web-related applications without the help of IT professionals which can reduce cost in the part of the company; and for the end-user to solve problems related to such applications. On the other hand, its disadvantage includes unclear distinctions between the applications that can be developed by end users and by IT professionals resulting to disintegrated IT system. 3.      An Information Center is composed of information systems personnel and IT professionals. It serves as the IT organization or IT backbone of a company, functioning as the developer of web-related applications and providing technical support to the end users. Within the IC, staffing is necessary for the IC to function properly; it is important that personnel in the IC are highly qualified and well-familiar with the different aspects of the web and the intranet. Each staff is given tasks wherein he can be most efficient. 4.        5.      Both Program and Project Management are two essential components of infrastructure development system of a company, with program management responsible for the business aspects of the system and project management responsible for the planning and execution of the system output (Martinelli & Waddel). That is, program management is focused on both the technical and business results, requires to be strategically focused, assures the work to be feasible from a business standpoint, and requires management and business skills (Martinelli & Waddel). On the other hand, project management is focused on a single project alone, is tactically focused and most concerned with technical success like an IT project manager is focused on web development, the software needed and the equipments necessary to run an intranet. Another more general example is an automobile company: while project management is needed to be able to create a new car model, involves projects in its design, manufacturing process, and creation of marketing campaign ensuring that it has the technical features and capabilities of a good and tough car, program management will be focused on how to coordinate these activities and is utilized for the deliverables of the projects. Usually, there are many project managements in a company such as engineering project management, IT project management, production project management and others, but there will be one program management to coordinate these projects. 6.      Although project managers, such as an IT project manager, are technical in nature, they should still have the business skills needed to accomplish a successful project. These skills include interpersonal skills that are used in dealing with suppliers and in understanding external and internal customer needs; and the skills needed on time management and cost budgeting ensuring that the project does not only technically effective but also cost effective. All these skills are essential to superior project management; a project is considered successful when it is not only aligned with the goal of the program (e.g. to create an easy to use IS) but also with the business objectives (e.g. to satisfy customers). 7.      A project is not an effort of a single individual but a team effort. Therefore, staffing is a critical production factor. A project manager must be able to put a staff in a position where he is best capable of doing. There are some staffing issues that should be considered by a project manager. These include: the number of human resources needed such as programmers, database administrators, network specialists and IT analysts required to complete the project; the dedication of these human resources; the skill level of these people; issues on whether time constraints will require additional human resources; and if consultants will be needed to help staff a project (CCSI, 2001). These issues must be considered before starting a project to ensure that the project will be successful initially and in the long run. References: Nelson, R. R., and Todd, P. (1999), Strategies for Managing EUC on the Web Journal of End User Computing, January/March   Martinelli, R. & Waddell, J., Program Management: Linking Business Strategy to  Product and IT Development, Accessed Online Date: June 7, 2006 <http://www.pmforum.org/library/papers/2003/prgmgmt.pdf#search=’difference%20between%20program%20management%20and%20project%20management’>   Comprehensive Consulting Solutions, Inc. (2001), What is a Project and when is  a Project Manager needed? CCSI White Paper       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Intranet Strategies

1. Some of the potential strategies in managing intranet are listed by Nelson and Todd (1999). These strategies are based on the ac...

Intranet Strategies

1.      Some of the potential strategies in managing intranet are listed by Nelson and Todd (1999). These strategies are based on the activities of various companies in order to manage and control their intranet and rang from standard setting, resource allocation to applications development and involve activities that will help the organization control activities using the intranet. However, there will be certain problems that may arise from these activities depending on the control approaches implemented in an organization. A high control approach may result to low empowered employees or end user, over dependency to IT professionals that even the smallest problem with the use of the web can not be able to solve making IT staff inefficient because they are overly controlled by higher functional level. On the other hand, low control approach may result to over-empowered end user resulting to development of applications not related to their work and unauthorized access to data. 2.        The advantage of application development of end-user are being able to independently develop web-related applications without the help of IT professionals which can reduce cost in the part of the company; and for the end-user to solve problems related to such applications. On the other hand, its disadvantage includes unclear distinctions between the applications that can be developed by end users and by IT professionals resulting to disintegrated IT system. 3.      An Information Center is composed of information systems personnel and IT professionals. It serves as the IT organization or IT backbone of a company, functioning as the developer of web-related applications and providing technical support to the end users. Within the IC, staffing is necessary for the IC to function properly; it is important that personnel in the IC are highly qualified and well-familiar with the different aspects of the web and the intranet. Each staff is given tasks wherein he can be most efficient. 4.        5.      Both Program and Project Management are two essential components of infrastructure development system of a company, with program management responsible for the business aspects of the system and project management responsible for the planning and execution of the system output (Martinelli & Waddel). That is, program management is focused on both the technical and business results, requires to be strategically focused, assures the work to be feasible from a business standpoint, and requires management and business skills (Martinelli & Waddel). On the other hand, project management is focused on a single project alone, is tactically focused and most concerned with technical success like an IT project manager is focused on web development, the software needed and the equipments necessary to run an intranet. Another more general example is an automobile company: while project management is needed to be able to create a new car model, involves projects in its design, manufacturing process, and creation of marketing campaign ensuring that it has the technical features and capabilities of a good and tough car, program management will be focused on how to coordinate these activities and is utilized for the deliverables of the projects. Usually, there are many project managements in a company such as engineering project management, IT project management, production project management and others, but there will be one program management to coordinate these projects. 6.      Although project managers, such as an IT project manager, are technical in nature, they should still have the business skills needed to accomplish a successful project. These skills include interpersonal skills that are used in dealing with suppliers and in understanding external and internal customer needs; and the skills needed on time management and cost budgeting ensuring that the project does not only technically effective but also cost effective. All these skills are essential to superior project management; a project is considered successful when it is not only aligned with the goal of the program (e.g. to create an easy to use IS) but also with the business objectives (e.g. to satisfy customers). 7.      A project is not an effort of a single individual but a team effort. Therefore, staffing is a critical production factor. A project manager must be able to put a staff in a position where he is best capable of doing. There are some staffing issues that should be considered by a project manager. These include: the number of human resources needed such as programmers, database administrators, network specialists and IT analysts required to complete the project; the dedication of these human resources; the skill level of these people; issues on whether time constraints will require additional human resources; and if consultants will be needed to help staff a project (CCSI, 2001). These issues must be considered before starting a project to ensure that the project will be successful initially and in the long run. References: Nelson, R. R., and Todd, P. (1999), Strategies for Managing EUC on the Web Journal of End User Computing, January/March   Martinelli, R. & Waddell, J., Program Management: Linking Business Strategy to  Product and IT Development, Accessed Online Date: June 7, 2006 <http://www.pmforum.org/library/papers/2003/prgmgmt.pdf#search=’difference%20between%20program%20management%20and%20project%20management’>   Comprehensive Consulting Solutions, Inc. (2001), What is a Project and when is  a Project Manager needed? CCSI White Paper       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Intranet Strategies

1. Some of the potential strategies in managing intranet are listed by Nelson and Todd (1999). These strategies are based on the ac...

JAVA application

Abstract The growth of multimedia computing, followed by recent push towards World Wide Web publishing, is rapidly changing the multimedia industry. The multimedia industry both in typical and online field works under pressured; the need to use a growing diversity of multimedia computing tools in terms of planning, creating and reviewing content will help the industry in providing the world with globally competitive service. The media industry depends on technology partners in order to create multimedia-internet applications. Developers tend not to use Java when developing multimedia application (for movies, sound, music, images etc) on the web.” Is this statement correct? Defend your case by using examples or other alternatives. This paper hopes to answer that question by providing through analysis of JAVA application. Introduction             Personal computing, multimedia, and computer networks have experienced a tremendous development during the past decade. From expensive, stand-alone, MPC-1-compatible PCs that landed in the marketplace in the early 1990s to the popularization of the Internet (particularly the World Wide Web), the production, archival, and distribution of multimedia has evolved from few limited technologically devices, to a plethora of hardware and software available for these tasks. It is now possible to develop higher quality multimedia content, in less time, and distribute it to a much wider audience (using the Web as opposed to CD-ROMs) than anyone could have imagined a decade ago. The Internet has become ubiquitous and is quickly extending its arms to the wireless arena. The hunger for multimedia-rich content over the Web has fostered developments in many fields, from the technological infrastructure necessary to carry multimedia data, to the tools used to create, manage, and distribute multimedia content. Interactivity is the key concept in many such applications, such as games, maps, and distance learning applications. What is JAVA?             Java is an object-oriented programming language that is platform in dependent; this means that any Java program can be downloaded and run on all platforms even without modification. Java was developed and introduced by SUN Microsystems, and is widely used as client and server processing on the World Wide Web. It is developed and modeled after C++ programming language, with added feature that enhances programming such as “garbage collection”, which automatically free unused memory, multithreading, and the capability of a Java program to run using small amount of memory.             Java is a programming language specifically developed for client and server networked computing or distributed environment particularly the Internet. Although, Java is designed and modeled after C++, it is much easier and simpler to use than C++ and enforces an Object Oriented Programming (OOP) model. Java is an object-oriented programming language. Objects as part of a class, can inherit code that is common to the class.  Java applications can run on a single computer and can also be distributed among various servers and clients in a network. It can also be used in building small application module or applet, which is commonly used in a web page. Applets make interaction between the web page user and the web page server possible. Applets are executed at clients rather than the server, making java applet run faster.             Programs created on Java are portable in a network. Java programs are compiled into bytecode, which has the capability to run in a network on a server or client that has Java Virtual Machine. Java virtual machine interprets the bytecode into code that will be understandable in computer or machine language. Java code, unlike C++ and other languages, is robust. Java objects contains no references to external data, this ensures that an instruction cannot contain the particular address of data storage in other application or in the operating system; program instructions containing either of which can cause the program or the operating system to “crash”. The Java virtual machine ensures that code integrity. Java virtual machine includes an optional just-in-time compiler, which compiles bytecode into executable code.              Even more importantly, is the fact that Java was designed to allow secure code execution across a network, even when the particular source is untrusted and may contain malicious codes. Unlike C++, Java has no pointer and cannot access arbitrary addresses in the memory.  Java was designed to make program coding easier and bug free. Features of Java             Java has two main features which particularly makes it suitable in creating web-based applications and other distributed network. The two best feature of java is its platform independence and security features. Other important features of java are: ·        Platform Independence             Java programs can run on any platform without modification; making java       portable. This portability is because of the Virtual machine of java. When a           java program is compiled byte-code is created instead of executable file. ·        Security Java is a secure language; it is actually one of the first programming languages to consider security as part of its design. Java provides a secure execution of program between cross-platforms. ·        Simple Java considered a much simpler and easy to use object-oriented programming language if compared with the other popular programming language. ·        Distributed Java is designed to make distributed computing easy with the networking capability integrated into the language. ·        Interpreted Interpreter is needed by any programming language to run any program. The programs are compiled into Java Virtual Machine code called bytecode. The bytecode is machine independent and can to run on any machine that has a Java interpreter. ·        Reliability Reliability and security go hand in hand. Without a reliable framework for program execution security cannot be implemented with any degree of assurance. Java provides multiple levels of reliability measures. ·        Robust Robust means reliable; Java provides a lot of emphasis on early checking for possible errors. ·        Multithreaded Multithreaded is the capability of a program to perform several tasks simultaneously within a program. ·        Dynamic The Java programming language was designed to adapt to an evolving environment. New methods and properties can be added freely in a class without affecting their clients. ·        Other features <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Arbitrary Graphics and data types</li> </ul> </ul> Java allows the server to draw pictures in a window on the client; allowing a web page to independently do anything a regular program is capable of. Java can write content handlers that can display any data format. <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Less Load on the Server </li> </ul> </ul> CPU intensive scripts place a large load on a server, particularly at busy sites. With Java you can off-load the calculations to the client’s PC. <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> More User Interaction </li> </ul> </ul> Finally Java allows for more interaction with the user. Java does not only allow a user to paint arbitrary data on the screen. It also allows collecting input from the user in the form of mouse clicks, keystrokes and the like. This lets you put almost any application on your web page that doesn’t require disk access. Advantages of Java in Multimedia Applications             Java is appropriate and an ideal tool for creating interactive multimedia applications that will run on the WWW, this is due to the reason that Java provides a means for downloading data and application software for displaying and processing multimedia file within the Internet. In addition, embedding Java applications (Applets) within HTML documents transforms a static web page into a fully interactive multimedia experience. Applets on Java Virtual Machine (JVM) within browsers allow safe program execution of interactive programs over the WWW. The majority of such programs are written in Java; this is due to the flexibility and interactive user interface and great potential of Java written program.             Java Media Framework API (JMF) is a component of Java programming that allows audio, video, and other time-based media to be embedded to applications and applets built on Java language. JMF includes real-time network protocols that can capture, playback, and stream various multimedia formats; providing a powerful toolkit in developing a scalable and cross-platform Java application. JMF supports multiplexing wide range of codec, players, effects, capture, and other multimedia control mechanism. However, due to the complexity of JMF, it is quite difficult to understand. Java in Multimedia Applications             Communication through voice has always been a direct and traditional way of communicating. In a conventional classroom scenario, using voice in communication is efficient. But in today’s educational set-up, wherein online education or e-learning is becoming the prime educational teaching method; audio conference should be efficiently delivered. In a digital classroom, audio conference is based on client-server model, all conversation in the network are recorded, compressed and sent to network servers. When the server received all the audio source packets, the server then decompresses, mixes, and then finally transmits the audio packets to all the participants in the network. Voice conference is just a component of multimedia; multimedia is integrating audio and video data in an application.             There is a growing trend in integrating multimedia in the Internet; this is proven by the increasing number of radio and television stations, and other companies around the globe beginning to offer multimedia content over the Internet. Examples is yahoo which has radio and television broadcast, as well as video streaming and entertaining games integrated in their website. In addition, some multimedia applications are capable in supporting active user feedback, or even user participation. Example of interactive multimedia is JMapView, which is a type of interactive map or Geographical Information System (GIS).             Java applications on mobile phone are becoming a trend in today’s mobile industry. Java language is capable of producing mobile games for mobile phones; which is interactive and enjoyable. Video streaming is also possible trough java. Mobile Broadcast Service for handheld terminal allows a user to download and send multimedia file; this is the latest java-based multimedia application. Java Multimedia Protocol <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> JSR 135 (Mobile Media API) </li> </ul> This protocol specifies a small-footprint (The API allows easy and simple access and control of basic audio and multimedia resources on devices with limited memory and processing capabilities) multimedia for Java, allowing simple and easy access in controlling basic audio and multimedia resources while addressing scalability <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> JSR 184 (bile 3D Graphics API)</li> </ul>             Provide a scalable, small-footprint, interactive 3D API for mobile devices <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> JSR 189 (JavaTM 3D API 1.4)</li> </ul> Adds a new large scale functionality to Java 3D. That includes programmable shading and advanced rendering techniques <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> JSR 309 (Media Server Control API)</li> </ul> This protocol provides a portable interface tool in creating media rich applications with IVR, Conferencing, Speech Recognition, and similar features.   Disadvantages of Java             The major disadvantage of Java is the speed of program execution. This can be cause by slow and limited bandwidth of the communications channel and the added delay caused by the network browser translating the byte code. Compiling java codes can consume some time and java as an interpreted language has a major disadvantage when it comes to speed. But with faster computers available, such issue should not be considered a problem.             Bergin (1996) complains that Java lacks templates, overloaded operators, and user-defined conversions. The latter two, he points out, are useful for making a user-defined type behave like a built-in type; although this complaint proves to be wrong in the next years to come. Conclusion             Java is receiving widespread interest in terms of usage, and it will undoubtedly become as an important useful internet development tool. Java supports a new programming paradigm, which allows programmers to create platform independent and web-executable program. Future development on web applications using java is very promising. Since the introduction of Java, major software companies (such as Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle) have been integrating Java programming into their web-based products.             Java in multimedia applications is becoming a common trend; this is because of the capability of java language in multimedia performance and its practical web-based nature. Java makes multimedia application easy and secured.             Java language has significant advantages in many industries not only for commerce but education. It allows students to easily learn object-oriented programming without complexity. It provides rigorous compile-time error checking. And it allows instructors to introduce students to GUI programming, networking, threads, and other important concepts used in modern-day software. Java introduced multimedia as an effective method for teaching; embedding both audio and video educational references in teaching. Java-based multimedia teaching provides an interactive environment that captures the logic of real-time education. Java is an excellent instrument for multimedia. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

JAVA application

Abstract The growth of multimedia computing, followed by recent push towards World Wide Web publishing, is rapidly changing the multime...

What is the Internet?

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW What is the Internet? The Internet has received great deal of attention in media and many companies have set up an Internet presence. Companies are moving to use the Internet as a way of segmenting markets and doing something that ordinary promotional media cannot: reaching consumers across the country and around the world interactively and on demand. The potential applications of the Internet are being expanded every day, and companies which are the first to exploit these opportunities will have a tremendous advantage over oriented competitors. Even though the Internet’s popularity is growing among businesses, there is still a great deal of confusion about the Internet and what it has to offer the business world. The Internet is network of computer networks. It is made up of two and half million host computers and is growing at the rate of over two million new users each month (Eager, 1994) and internet is highly efficient way of accessing, organizing and sharing information as introduction of the World Wide Web service has changed everything. The World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW) is relatively new Internet service based on hypermedia. Hypermedia enables users to navigate the Internet using a point and click interface similar to those used on Macintosh and Windows-based computer systems. The most popular browser at the time of writing is Netscape Navigator. WWW browsers eliminate the need to learn complex computer commands. All the reader needs to do is start the browser and point and click on the topics of interest displayed. The browser translates the clicks to computer commands, freeing the user from the need to learn the arcane operating system. Promoting one’s products on the Internet can be cost-effective way to reach potential consumers worldwide. But once a WWW site is online, companies must wait for consumers to come to them as unsolicited advertising such as mass e-mailing is frowned on in the Internet community. The waiting time for customers can be shortened considerably by giving the site address in traditional promotional materials, by joining electronic malls and by arranging with the operators of related sites. Willing consumers can call toll-free numbers, send e-mail messages and fill out online forms to order merchandise or request information. The Internet is fast moving and rapidly changing environment. With the advent of the WWW and user-friendly browsers, marketing business are making the leap online and visualizing cost-effective media vehicle to reach customers.   Marketing applications of the World Wide Web   The interactive brochure Interactive brochures range from simple information provided in a text-only form as called flat ads, to highly sophisticated multimedia productions, with full scale audio, video and interactive capabilities. Flat ads, single page electronic flyers, are often the first step into an eventual multimedia format. They allow companies to get an initial feel for the marketplace. Even these relatively simple sites on the Internet send a message to current customers, potential customers and competitors that a company is on the cutting edge (Sandberg, 1995). Some Internet sites provide users with multimedia materials, including sound bites, video clips, allowing access to detailed product information. The virtual storefront Perhaps the shopping experience on the Internet can best be achieved by visiting one of the many cyber-malls. Online shoppers rang up some 0 million worth of sales and sales are expected to top billion (Chatsky, 1995). Locations such as the Branch Mall, the Internet Shopping Network provide from 30 to 100 links to participating Internet retailers. Many of these malls are made up of small florists, travel agencies, and card shops, but even big name retailers are getting in on the act (Sandberg, 1995).    Although the majority of large companies have well-established physical distribution systems, virtual storefronts have a great leveling effect, instantly transforming small companies into worldwide distributors by providing a source of direct sales. It is difficult to determine the size of a company by its World Wide Web page. The information clearinghouse Another category of use of the World Wide Web is as an information clearinghouse. Some companies wish to provide a place to exchange information with customers and other researchers, such as those in academia. The establishment of an information clearinghouse on the WWW can assist businesses in this endeavor, information clearinghouse is place where product questions can be asked and answered online, meetings and conferences can be announced, and research findings can be shown and explained. Current technology allows participants to have real time video and audio interaction via the Internet. These virtual meeting places and discussion groups can bring people with similar interests together for meetings and discussions instantly and at very little cost to the sponsor. The customer service tool The use of the WWW as a customer service tool can take a variety of forms. Netscape, one of the World Wide Web browsers, has no built-in help feature; all of its help is provided online via the WWW. When the user asks the program for help, the software gets the current help file from the company’s WWW site. There allows the help files to be expanded and updated without requiring an upgrade to the program itself. Just because a company engages in a variety of WWW activities, does not mean that its site will be better or more successful than one which makes use of only one. The key difference may lie in the quality of the implementation.   Marketing applications Diagram Advertisement Effectiveness Conventionally, advertising has been one of the major forms of communication between a firm and its clients. Wells et al. (1995) reported eight basic types of advertising designed to reach a diverse audience with varied objectives. In order to serve the desired role and function most effectively, advertisements may use many different types of media and vehicle for different target groups. With the advent of technology, the Internet posits itself as one of the very few media alternatives that can be used for almost all advertising purposes across all possible market segments. Businesses can create and transmit advertisements on the Internet that can be accessed by anybody with a computer equipped with appropriate software. Such a convenience and marketing efficiency, both for the advertiser and the target audience, is making the Net popular for marketing practices all over the world. In addition, the Net has the capability to compile statistics regarding how many people viewed each advertisement and for how long each viewer actually looked at an advertisement. This helps companies track down the effectiveness of their advertisements in terms of the number of direct purchases – a much more effective mechanism than the existing ones for magazine advertisements or television commercials. Furthermore, advertising on the Net on an average, costs merely a third of what it costs in the magazines and business journals, and a fraction of the price associated with television ads. This opens up avenues, particularly for smaller firms, to reach their potential clients more cost-effectively.  Market research and analysis Although marketing on the Net can benefit companies of all sizes, smaller organizations may have the maximum gain. The enterprises across countries have rushed to connect to the Net and should be able to communicate within the global village as effectively as major transnational corporations. The Internet furnishes direct customer contact, combined with the appropriate market and technical reference material, which gives organizations greater ability to identify earlier shifts in product and customer trends and to test new value propositions in response. This enables managers to recognize product and market opportunities sooner and to adopt more effective product, price, distribution and further promotion strategies relative to the customers’ needs. Issues in using the Internet There are several pros and cons associated with using the Internet for marketing purposes. Global opportunities The Net access delivers a company with an opportunity to implement highly cost-effective vehicles not only for their own marketing and customer support needs, but also for positioning themselves globally. It is especially beneficial to smaller companies who want to expand their businesses globally, but do not have the capital and resources to do so. In addition, the Internet helps ease the red tape surrounding the prospect of doing business overseas, thus avoiding regulations and restrictions that companies’ must follow who are physically present in other countries and who advertise in international journals.  Accessibility Companies who use the Internet, not only for advertising, but for e-mail and customer ordering, increase their hours of business on a global spectrum. Instead of a typical eight-hour day, businesses have increased their opportunities by providing 24-hour access for branch offices, business contacts and shoppers access that is important in conducting business across different time zones or internationally. Utility Providing appropriate form, place and time utility may result in a competitive advantage for the marketers. Especially, the Net furnishes product and service information to current and potential customers when they want it and hence increasing the chances of trial/purchase/repurchase. Security The Net has very little security and any company using the Net risks disclosure of proprietary information. The Internet was originally designed for a free flow of communications – regulation and security were not considered when it was conceived and developed. However, with its increasing use for marketing and advertising, there is ample concern for security in terms of copyrights and other proprietary information. Anyone can go into the Net and change, manipulate or discard information, including advertisements. Although there are some basic safeguards to prevent this sort of practice, at best it can be described as inadequate (Business Europe, 1995).  Advertisement over the Net reduces managers’ control considerably. Users of the Internet are difficult to target. Although 50 percent of the users are 25 years or younger, there is still another 50 percent of users from ages 25 and up. It is possible to reach all age groups, yet targeting certain age groups may be difficult. First of all, it cannot be measured applying the conventional methods used for television or magazine advertisements. For example, television has the Nielsen ratings and magazines focus on specific interests of different segments. To date, the Net is broad and unknown, a company cannot possibly determine easily who or where to advertise on the Net. Furthermore, there are so many resources on the Internet; it is probable that users will not see a company’s advertisement at all unless they are prompted to search for certain products/services offered by that company. Advertising Integration Advertisers can buy advertisement space on the Net through a service provider, a private company set up to be a gateway to the system for a set of clients. Organizations can find individual consultants as easily as looking in the Yellow Pages. Many of these small firms actually advertise their services on the Internet. These specialized agencies will do everything from setting up, maintaining and promoting their clients’ advertisements (Crain’s Chicago Business, 1994). Users need software such as Netscape, which gives them the capability of seeing the advertisement in full color, graphics, sound and video images. Netscape also helps users locate shopping networks through a user-friendly, Windows-compatible environment (Computer World, 1994).  Sales and marketing research Advertising is not the only benefit to using the Internet. It also serves as a huge database for research and demographic data. Each transaction that takes place on the Net can be tracked to the user. Therefore, pertinent information about the purchaser can be collected to develop target-marketing strategies. Of equal importance, the Internet’s discussion boards and electronic mail provide marketing with a means to communicate directly with its customers. The capability provides organizations with the ability to identify product opportunities, changes in the competition, unaddressed customer needs, shifts in value propositions and host of other indispensable information points that are difficult to obtain through more traditional and more costly means. So far, World Wide Web has proved to be the most popular medium for market intelligence as networks provide customer support, research, and product development ideas through e-mail, discussion boards, and demonstration facilities. Equally important to business needs is that the Internet provides an effective two-way communication vehicle through which marketing may test ideas and concepts while minimizing the investments needed to launch either pilot programs or full-scale product introductions (Internet Business Center, 1994). Developments in information technology have ceaselessly had profound marketing implication which poses both tremendous opportunities and challenges for international marketing. The Internet has become established as a global channel through which both existing and potential customers can be targeted and through which organizations can both publicize and present commercial offerings (Evans and Wurster, 2000) and predicted growth of e-commerce revenues, the Internet’s presence is commanding. The Internet has become established as fully-fledged global marketing and communications channel, and can deliver many aspects of any organization’s global marketing strategies ranging from database building and customer acquisition to providing customer service, forming relationships, building loyalty and installing advocacy in existing customers (Czinkota and Ronkainen, 1990). The global nature of the Internet, combined with the nature of the communication that it can convey, makes it a perfect vehicle for international marketing (Nicovich and Cornwell, 1998; cited in Richardson, 2001, p. 148). The marketing potential of the Internet has been realized by organizations over the past few years, with its popularity as a medium to target consumers increasing and many academics predict it will increase in the future (Hamill, 1997; Mack, 2000; Hoffman et al., 2000). It has been argued that the Internet’s ability to connect end users with producers directly will eventually eliminate wholesalers and distributors, and reconfigure the supply chain of many consumer goods and services. A further implication that the Internet has upon global marketing strategies is that it enables organizations to pay greater attention to customer service and is radically changing the way in which organizations do business. Hoffman et al. (2000) (www.ascusc.org) argues that the Internet opens up a new communications channel with customers, allowing companies to develop or cement relationships with them. Web sites can incorporate customer service facilities into their activities, providing customers’ world-wide with a focal point for their queries, thus increasing customer interaction (Sinden, 2001). However, Internet creates open communication links through emails, bulletin boards and corporate Web sites, facilitating collaboration with range of customers from various backgrounds. Cultural and language barriers The Internet may reduce the size of the world in one sense but it does not eradicate the presence of fundamental cultural and language differences. Marketers still have to remain alert to the attitudes, norms, customs and values of the inhabitants of different countries when formulating their online global marketing strategies (Peterson et al., 1997). Thus, due to the inherently global nature of the Internet, organizations should evaluate the global impact of any online advertising and promotional material. Predominantly, the language of the Internet is English, the longstanding belief in international marketing, supported by the former German chancellor Willy Brandt, is that marketing should always take place in the language of the target market (www.globalreach.com) (Dunlap, 2001).   Global reputation management From a marketing perspective the use of the Internet as a communication medium can have detrimental consequences for organizations. Bailey (1999) is an advocate of this view and draws attention to the reality that everybody who has access to the Internet has the power to become a publisher and the ability to communicate with a vast audience through numerous channels including emails, Web sites, chat systems and newsgroups. Gurak (1997, p. 16) states that its ability to “compress time and space, flatten traditional hierarchies and facilitate participatory action”, when combined with its wide user base presents the Internet as a new avenue for political action and makes the Internet a breeding ground for controversy. The emergence of the Internet has brought with it an increasing degree of corporate accountability, with myriad of official and unofficial watchdogs eager to reveal to the world any inconsistencies within corporations’ actions (Janal, 2000). The ability of the internet to deliver and obtain information in a flexible, effective manner at relatively low costs is very attractive. However, not many research projects have focused on how young people use the internet and the effects on the time spent with other media activities. Markets The Internet has made difference to global business operations. Air travel, for example, accounted for billion of the total billion spent on travel on the Internet in 1999, according to a marketing-strategy company called PhoCusWright (The Economist, 2001; (Renton, 2000). The Internet has proved to be the perfect messenger for niche interests, serving individual tastes and diverse geographical demands. The key to the success of niche net businesses is first and foremost brand awareness, but the promotional spend necessary to achieve brand recognition among the online clutter is now challenging the resources of the smaller enterprise, at least through traditional promotional mechanisms (Barkham, 2000). Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

What is the Internet?

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW What is the Internet? The Internet has received great deal of attention in media and many companies h...

Client/Server Architecture

Client/Server Architecture   1.      Do you think the problems faced by Hures is unique to them?  Why or why not?                         The Client-server problem that Hures has encountered is not unique to them. Yes, Client-server computing had a positive impact on organizations, but, as with all new technologies, there are many challenges and questions with hard-to-find answers.                         Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF), a standards          organization founded in 1992, is creating the most important set of        standards for network and systems management since the initial version            of simple network management protocol (SNMP) was released in 1988.    DMTF is tackling the significant problems involved with managing      hardware and software of PC desktops and servers. Its specs are           complete enough that users can now require conformance from vendors and look for management applications that incorporate the specifications         in their architecture.                          Among the vendors that have supported DMTF since it was launched in 1992 are Intel, Microsoft, Novell, Digital, Hewlett Packard,           IBM, SunSoft and SynOptics. Since then many others have joined,    including AST Research, Compaq, Dell, Symantec and Apple, and    hundreds of hardware and software vendors have pledged to implement the DMTF specifications.                         It may seem strange that this large group of vendors has decided to            work    together to make your life easier; historically, the opposite has been       true. But the DMTF members aren’t altruistic–they’re cooperating because    they believe that by easing the management burden, customers will move       toward client-server computing faster.                         To make client-sever networks run smoothly, we will have to be       able to manage the desktop. The DMTF members are developing MIFs        and helping developers incorporate DMI into products through workshops    and publications. The work of the DMTF should make 1995 the year it    became possible to manage desktops in a cohesive and simplified             manner. Will the DMTF be a success? Absolutely. 2.      Suggest an alternative technology that could be used to overcome the problems faced by Hures with their Client/Server technology.                         The lack of effective remote management for desktops is a major    barrier to widespread adoption of client-server computing. The PC has         become the ultimate open system. The complexity problem is even worse        at the workgroup and enterprise levels. Workgroups often contain             workstations from multiple vendors, some of which have attached printers,           others have CDROM drives and each has a different hard-drive capacity             and runs different software.                         Today, managing these environments requires an arsenal of           separate vendor-developed utilities that for the most part cannot be       invoked remotely. What is needed is a standardized management agent            that the various components can share and a uniform and easily extended        way to format management information and commands.                         DMTF specs will help save time and money. They will maintain       consistency throughout a network and will free managers to work on the             kinds of activities that push users forward rather than on the tedious    housekeeping tasks that hold them back.                         The DMTF has addressed a problem that SNMP never defined: a    set of open APIs for accessing a common agent. DMTF’s agent is called    the Desktop Management Interface and it defines how management   applications request services from an agent through a Management          Interface (MI). It also defines how component providers can provide     routines that integrate into the DMI agent structure through the          Component Interface (CI). These definitions result in an open agent             platform that allows vendors to share a common management interface for          PCs or workstations.                         The DMI is independent of operating systems and protocols. Think             of it as an interpreter: It takes requests from management applications and translates them through the DMVs Service Layer, so the           component can give the application the             information it needs. The DMI             also allows components to send notifications through            the Service Layer to             any application that is registered to receive this type of information.                         The DMI enables component-specific agent modules to be   executed in response to management commands that come through the          DMI interface. It will be possible to remotely invoke disk diagnostics or test        routines on specific boards in a    machine in a standardized way.                         In the DMTF specification, the definitions of management data are             called             Management Information Files (MIFs), and they resemble SNMP’s             Management Information Bases (MIBs). A MIF is a text file that contains     information about the component, its manufacturer, its configuration and         any other information that will help manage the device.                         To assure that the information stored in a MIF remains the same,    regardless of which vendor creates the product, the DMTF is publishing    standard MIF structures for different components. Having a standard way       to specify desktop and server configuration information is a key             breakthrough, and it will enable us to automatically collect a full inventory            of all hardware and software. This will have the same impact on          systems management that SNMP’s auto-topology and discovery           capabilities have had on network management.                         DMTF’s work is carried out in working groups, which are organized             around specific types of devices. Each group is establishing a definition        and structure for the MIF information to be stored on its components.                         The PC MIF contains information on the CPU, operating system,    motherboard, audio, video, BIOS, I/Os, co-processor, power source and         expansion slots.                   3.      One of the suggestions proposed by Hures IS department is the use of Intranet Webs.  Examine the pros and cons of such an idea.                                                    An intranet is a framework for creating and sharing corporate knowledge, the emphasis being on the word framework. Based on Internet standards and tools, an intranet focuses on content sharing within a limited and well-defined group.                         Benefits of intranets. There are a number of major advantages in having an intranet, such as: ease of use; single intuitive user interface     (namely the browser); widespread industry support; and ability to link up         legacy systems (both applications and databases).                               Commentators acknowledge that intranet equipment will outsell that          used for the Internet by a considerable margin. This begs the question of            why there has been such a huge take-up of intranets. The reasons why    intranets are so successful are: (1) Platform independence—web     technologies allow a whole range of different platforms to be linked by a   common interface. (2) Quick wins—an intranet can be set up very cheaply,   but if it is well designed it can make a big impact upon internal            communications. Something as simple as putting the phone book onto the             intranet can save a large organisation thousands of pounds on       reprographics, and the end result is a list that is always up to date. There    is no longer the danger of some copies being up to date, and others being      six months out of date. And (3) Cost savings—there are a number of          potential cost savings. These include user support. On an intranet, all the      processing and applications sit on the server. It is only necessary to update the software on the server, instead of on each individual user’s pc.       Another area of cost savings would be in network management, since        there would be a move from a multi-protocol network, to a single protocol        network, namely TCP/IP.                         Cons of Intranets. There are also disadvantages: (1) Management             could lose control of the material provided in the Intranet. (2) There could         be easy security concerns with who accessess the intranet, plus abuse of     the intranet by users. And (3) Intranets may cause “information overload”,      delivering too much to handle.                         According to an article in  in May 1997,     ‘Web-based technologies provide a common user interface across            disparate platforms, enabling the development of cross-platform      applications, the integration of existing legacy applications and databases,     and enhanced communications and information sharing among the         intranet users’ (1997).                         In order to achieve the business benefits which an intranet can       undoubtedly bring, you have got to address the cultural issues. You have        to face headon the question of how you can create a culture within your           organisation which will encourage all your staff to use the new technology    and to share information. What you should be aiming for is a learning       organisation, one that is able to learn from experience, and one which       doesn’t continually reinvent the wheel. That means having the confidence      to try things out, being willing to fail in order to learn how to succeed,             finding out what works and what doesn’t. This isn’t going to be easy—who           wants to share their failures with work colleagues? But, if they do so, then   hopefully together employees can help each other along the road to          success. The collective brainpower of an organisation is clearly far more   powerful than that of any individual. If everyone is working together, then             they will bring together collectively a number of differ ent thoughts, ideas    and perspectives. To achieve this, there must be an information sharing   culture.                                 I think that one important factor is to ensure that employees feel      that it is worthwhile sharing information, or providing feedback and            suggestions about the intranet. This doesn’t have to be about monetary          rewards. Rather, it is about demonstrating that you value their efforts.             Show them that you have taken on board their comments and         suggestions, and that you have acted upon them. Or, if for some    reason the comments are impractical to implement or don’t fit in with the          overall strategy; take the time and effort to explain why.   4.      Do you think the popularity of Intranets and the Internet pose threats to traditional Client/server systems?                         Just because people have discovered intranets doesn’t mean all companies should get one simply because their competitors have got one. Information Technology departments must enter into a dialogue with their firms′ senior management in order to try and understand what the key issues affecting the business are, because these should be what drives development, not IT issues. Unless this point is fully understood, businesses run the risk of failing to exploit the strategic and competitive advantages which are potentially available to them through investing in intranet technologies.                                     It is easy to envisage the chief executive of a company going           along to lunch with his counterpart in a similar organisation. When he has lunch, his counterpart sings the praises of the wonderful new intranet that    they have just installed in their organisation. On his return from lunch, the      chief executive calls in the IT director and says, ‘We must get one of           those’. And so, an intranet is duly installed, and the chief executive can now look his peers in the eye and say that his company also has an         intranet. How many times do people find out that their competitors have a             particular piece of software, so they must get it too? What is important, of   course, is not whether or not an organisation has an intranet, but rather to     what uses it is being put. Over and over again, when you ask people what            their intranet contains, you find a remarkable unanimity amongst             organisations, where the intranet basically contains the telephone directory and the menu for the staff restaurant, but nothing of any          substance. I was amused to learn that this type of intranet has a name—          they have been dubbed ‘emptynets’ (1999).                                     It is easy to mock such things, but it very much depends        upon the future development plans that an organisation has for its      intranet. If a company just puts up the phone directory and the menu, and        thinks that it now has a fully-fledged intranet, then something is wrong.             But if, however, that organisation has put up those applications       deliberately as a ‘taster’ of             what an intranet looks like, and as a means of getting people interested in the idea of an intranet then clearly there     is the potential to ask the users what they would like to see on the   intranet, and how they would like it to develop. It is vitally important for       companies to realize that an intranet is something dynamic. It has the      potential to grow into something that becomes a natural part of office             life, just like using the photocopier or the fax machine. Once people           grasp that there is a developmental process involved, then the intranet      could lead on to an extranet, and indeed to electronic commerce (also             known as e-commerce).                               Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Client/Server Architecture

Client/Server Architecture 1. Do you think the problems faced by Hures is unique to them? Why or why not? ...